Quiet Please
by DarkElements10
Summary: Dougie was never one that listened when he was told to do something. Especially when he's told to be quiet. But being quiet helps him face things he could never face before. *Could be considered a sequel to No Easy Way Out*.


**Quiet Please**

**By: Riley**

**Summary – Dougie was never one that listened when he was told to do something. Especially when he's told to be quiet. But being quiet helps him face things he could never face before. *Could be considered a sequel to No Easy Way Out*.**

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><p>Dougie pouted as he continued to stare at the ceiling of his room. He was supposed to be downstairs with his friends and band mates working on new songs. That was the point of going out to the seaside—or was it lakeside—cabin condo thing with everyone. They were supposed to be spending some time together and writing some songs whether for their own bands or for McBusted and that's what he had been doing.<p>

So what if he got a little excited?

That was the point. They were getting a lot of good songs done, yes, most of them had to do with women, and sex, and tongue-in-cheek jokes that weren't always appreciated, but it was all in fun. Everyone was having a good time. Up until Tom got a stick up his butt and couldn't handle Dougie's antics anymore, telling him to either settle down and be quiet or to go back to his room and chill out. Of course that just made Dougie react even more, pissing off Tom was on his top ten list of things that entertained him. Seeing the serious expression slide over his face that was mostly a mixture of exasperation and annoyance, always made him fall into a fit of giggles that, hopefully, would set everyone else into laughter too.

That day he took things too far and Tom sent him to his room. Grounded. Grounded! Dougie had never been grounded in his life. When he was young he barricaded _himself _in his room so he could practice the bass or to be by himself and take care of his snakes and lizards, but he had never been grounded.

Apparently Tom meant it too, because every time he would have tried to leave, hearing some sort of laughter or cheering from downstairs, Tom would always send him back upstairs. It was the not knowing that was starting to get to him. Were inside jokes being made? What was everyone laughing at? Were they laughing at him? Had Harry made some sort of a joke about how he looked like a wet dog when he, Dougie, was naked?

Was Matt making some sort of sex joke?

Were the boys having a piss of the girls and getting their well deserved revenge for it?

He needed to know!

It wasn't until things got quiet downstairs that Dougie thought it was perfect time to leave the room. Everyone must have been taking a break. Rolling off his bed, Dougie skipped over to the door and with a karate cry, flung it open, slicing through the air with his foot. James, who had been walking by the room with a sandwich on a plate, let out a cry of surprise, upending the plate all over the floor. Though, true to James's personality, a smile was still on his face.

"Mate, you scared the piss out of me," James said, bringing a hand up to his chest.

"I wouldn't eat that sandwich then," Dougie pointed out as James bent down and started to assemble it again.

"Nah, it's OK." James waved him off. "Five second rule." He inspected his sandwich as he put it back on his plate then turned back to Dougie. "Are you breaking Tom's grounding?"

Dougie waved a hand. "Groundings are for losers and Tom can't tell me what to do."

"Right. Well, we're taking a break anyway so I'm sure he'll let you back down once we get started up again."

Dougie smiled and went downstairs. Or he could bug Tom into letting him back into their little group. That was the plan anyway, but when he went downstairs he didn't find Tom anywhere, nor Danny or Harry. In fact, as soon as his foot hit the bottom floor, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney Jackson of the DarkElements, went barreling around the corner, nearly knocking him flat on his ass.

"What's going on?" Dougie side-stepped them and went into the living room where Riley and Rhuben, their older sisters, were sitting on the couch, notebooks held in their laps, Riley loosely resting an acoustic guitar against her chest.

"Harry and Danny said something about going out to the water," Rhuben replied, spinning a pencil around her finger. "The island gets cut off when the water gets high enough and they went to watch it."

Riley gave a smarmy smile, her hands loosely draping over the top of the guitar, resting her chin on her hands. "Hopefully they get close enough that the tide takes them out. Then maybe we'll get some peace and quiet around here."

"Oh come on," Dougie protested. "You two are part of the noise, too."

"Yeah, but when we do it, it's funny," Rhuben said. She got up from the couch, tossing her pillow down onto a cushion. "Why don't we all go out? We've been inside all day."

"Good idea." Riley put her guitar aside and stood up, stretching out her legs. "Hang on a tick and I'll get Tom and Mattie and we can all go."

"I'll get James then; I have to get my phone anyway." Rhuben gave Dougie a warm smile, patting him on the shoulder as she passed him, leaving the room.

Dougie turned back to Riley and smiled at her as she carefully put her guitar back in its case. She snapped the clasps down and carefully picked it up before smirking at him. "Did you enjoy your time-out?" She asked him.

"I did, actually," he replied, following her as she made her way through the living room and over to what was supposed to be a coat closet but housed hers, Tom's, Danny's, Dougie's, James's, Matt's, Patrick's, and Sydney's guitars. "It gave me plenty of time to touch myself and wonder how my life got to be so great."

Riley's eyebrow rose before she rolled her eyes. "And you lot wonder why Rhu and I don't like to go into a room when the four of you are together," she said. "You're a bunch of freaks."

"Adorable freaks," Dougie corrected her.

"Keep thinking that if it makes you feel better, mate," Riley said. She placed her guitar in the closet and closed the door behind her. Dougie continued to follow her, walking almost on her heels. When she stopped and turned to face him again, Dougie could see that she was annoyed, if only slightly. Having dated her a while back he always knew how far he could push her buttons before she was past irritation to annoyed. "Is there any reason that you're following me?"

"Other than being able to look at your bum?" Dougie smiled sweetly.

Riley's upper lip curled for a moment before she brought a hand up to her chin, pretending to think. "Didn't Tom tell you that you have to be quiet?" Dougie shrugged. "So, for once in your life, why don't you listen to what he tells you?"

Dougie's sweet smile then turned into an evil one. If she wanted him to be quiet, he'd be quiet. She didn't say anything about not being annoying though. Dougie continued to follow Riley around the house as she collected Tom and Matt from their rooms and went back down to the front door, where Rhuben and James were waiting.

"If you don't stop, I swear to fucking God I'm going to punch you in the face," Riley said to Dougie as the two walked up. Rhuben and James gave Riley funny looks when she walked up with Dougie standing right behind her, holding onto her pigtails and swinging them back and forth in his hands. "Don't ask," she said through gritted teeth.

"At this point I'm wondering how he hasn't been knocked out," James remarked. His eyes rose to meet Dougie's. "Mate, do you have a death wish?"

"He has to if he dated her," Rhuben teased. Riley scowled and reached out, punching her sister on the arm. "Ow!" Riley stuck her tongue out at her twin sister and Rhuben stuck hers out in reply. James shifted his feet, looking away from the twins as an awkward tension filled the air.

Dougie, being the one that always wanted to break awkward tension, let go of Riley's hair and turned back towards the stairs. "TOMMMMM! WE'RE READY TO GOOOOOOO!" He sung the last word in a high falsetto.

"Dougie!" Tom appeared at the top of the stairs with his hands over his ears, bundled up in a sweatshirt. Matt came down the stairs after him, pulling a beanie down over his hair. "Please, use your inside voice."

"I don't think he has one," Matt said as they all headed out the door to meet up with Danny, Harry, and the Jackson boys. They were all standing at the water's edge, waiting for their friends. "Did you see anything good? Maybe some mermaid flashing or something?" He laughed as Riley and Rhuben shot out their hands and smacked him on the back of the head at the same time.

"You're just as bad as he is, Mattie," Rhuben said, tilting her head over to Danny. "And that's saying something."

"Yeah, but when I do it its cute, love," Danny replied.

"That's what _I _said!" Dougie defended himself.

"Hey, hey, hey." Sydney held up his hands. "The only one that's cute around here is me. That's all I have going for me right now."

"You got that right," Patrick deadpanned.

Sydney scowled and turned to his older brother, bringing back his foot and kicking him in the shin. Patrick let out a cry of pain, grabbing the front of his leg. Sydney blew a raspberry at his brother and Patrick chased after him, the two running around the water. Noah stuck by the other band members, gently shaking his head. "Should have seen that coming."

"Now I'm questioning whether or not Patrick really is twenty," Riley murmured as she continued to watch him chase their youngest brother at fifteen.

"I wonder the same thing with all these blokes," Rhuben waved her hand around McFly and the two remaining members of Busted. If the boys were offended, they didn't show it, used to having those sort of comments from the girls since they had met.

Dougie walked along with his friends, hands in the pockets of his jeans and gently kicking at rocks that lined the path that connected their island home from the rest of the world. He looked out over the calm, gray water. It was very calming to be out there, he realized. After having gone through what plagued him about two years before, the depression and the darkness that he had managed to fall into…this was a better alternative. His eyebrows furrowed together. Somehow, as soon as he had gotten out there, he was reminded of the demons he had to face. The constant gray around him was like a test. Would he allow himself to get back to that point again?

More importantly, would he allow himself to finally face those demons that tried to attack him every now and then? Would he finally come to terms with the failed relationship he had with his father, something he always refused to talk about. Would he ever figure out what it was that caused him to get so far into alcohol and drugs and so deep into a hole that he didn't notice his friends trying to help him until it was almost too late and he found himself in a parked car in his driveway, waiting for death to claim him.

As he walked along, Dougie looked up and watched as his friends continued to go along quietly. Patrick and Sydney had calmed down and were walking along quietly as well. It was something about that area that made everyone so serene, calm, cool, and collected that was perfect for them to get inspiration on their writing. Tom had even calmed down a bit, not being so anal retentive about their own writing and the work on their new album. Not that Dougie blamed him, music was absolutely, one hundred percent, Tom's life and he took it so seriously. Dougie preferred to have fun with it as much as he could and if that meant making Tom go crazy, then it was worth it. (Especially when he had Harry and Danny backing him up, much like when the band first started).

As he continued to look at the gray around him, he wondered how long it would take before the gray turned black and started to surround him again. _It's already hard to be around when the other blokes like to drink. How will I keep my own thoughts away? _ He let out a long breath, closing his eyes, allowing the cool wind to blow over his face.

"Why does it have to be so cold?!" Riley loudly complained.

"I'm freezing!" Rhuben added. Danny immediately moved to her side, putting his arm around her shoulders saying, "I'll warm you up, love." Rhuben shoved him away from her, almost knocking him into the water. "Don't even think about it."

Dougie laughed along with his friends. The Jacksons, hailing from Australia, were so used to the warmth that whenever the temperature dropped below seventy degrees, they flipped out and whined and complained about the cold as long as they could. And that was when they weren't covered in about five layers of clothes and hats. If there was even a slight hint of a draft in their cottage an accented voice could be heard from somewhere, yelling about how cold it was.

"I told you, you needed a hat," Harry told Riley, who was hunkered down, trying to shield her ears with her shoulders.

"Who would have thought it was actually going to be this cold?" She replied.

"What sort of person likes coming out in this weather?" Patrick added, throwing his hands into the air. He chewed his lower lip, bringing his snakebite piercings into his mouth. "How do you stand living in London?"

"The same way you lot can live in Australia," Tom said. He opened his mouth to continue, but was cut off by Harry, James, Matt, and Danny as they said, "the girls." The three bands laughed, Tom joining in on their laughter as well.

Another gust of wind blew, causing Rhuben to hurry over to Tom and jump onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. She leaned forward and rested her cheek on his shoulder. Danny, sticking out his lower lip, crossed his arms. "You could have asked me to carry you," he pointed out.

"And have you cop a feel mate?" James pressed. "I don't think so."

"I would, but you're not warm and cuddly," Rhuben said, tightening her grip on the leader of McFly. Tom smiled; his dimple appeared in his cheek, leaning his head back to rest against hers. Danny made a show of turning away, muttering "that just means you're fat" under his breath.

Dougie snickered as he watched his friend get shot down once more. At least whenever he himself got shot down he was able to bounce back from it in seconds. He was never particularly serious in dating as it was, because he was always so shy. He still wasn't sure how he managed to have Riley interested in him long enough to date him when they were younger. Actually, he did, in a way he knew it was because they had similar backgrounds and experiences in some areas as well as similar tastes in music. But even when there were times he couldn't put up with himself he wondered how she did and even so he managed to finally push her away when his problems with depression had first started to appear. It was a miracle she didn't completely hate him.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She suddenly appeared at his side, causing him to jump and let out a loud yelp.

"Dougie!" Tom scolded. "Don't be so loud."

"We're outside now, Tommy boy," Dougie shot back. "I can use my outside voice if I want to!" His voice rose with each word. Tom gave him the middle finger in reply. Dougie pretended to blow Tom a kiss and turned back to Riley, who was still walking at his side.

"Y'see, its things like that that make me question my fucking sanity for wanting to hang around you guys," She said, smirking at him.

_Speak of the devil. _Dougie pressed his lips into a thin line. He brought a hand up to his shoulder length hair and nervously tousled it. "I wanted to ask you something, actually," he said. Riley nodded, urging him to continue. "When we were dating, why did you want to go out with me?"

Riley looked surprised at the question for a second then her face cleared. "You mean apart from the fact you're an amazing kisser?" Dougie made a show of pursing her lips causing her to laugh, her laughter mixing in with Patrick's cry of disgust, moving his hands over his ears. (Dougie knew he would have the same reaction if he heard his sister Jazzie saying the same thing about one of her boyfriends. As happy as he was that she was happy, he didn't need to hear it). Then, with a sigh, Riley stuck out her arm and looped it through his, resting her hand on his forearm. "Because, Dougie, you made me laugh. As much as you annoyed and continue to annoy me, you always make me laugh and you have a way of doing it when I'm in a bad mood. It makes me feel better and I appreciate that."

"Oh! OK." And while he had a very simple response to her answer, it made him feel a little bit better. Even when his battles had just started to begin, when he was starting his downward spiral and thought no one cared or that he wasn't making an impact in anyone's life, he had at least made an impact on one. He still had a long way to go before he felt he would be entirely back to normal, but at least there was hope.

Gray wasn't always considered a dark color.

There was a long moment of silence and then Riley could be heard yelling, "DOUGIE, LEAVE ME ALONE!" accompanying his loud laughter.

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><p><strong>THE END<strong>

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><p><strong>AN: **I had randomly gotten this idea when watching the Fearne and McBusted thing where James showed off the house that McBusted stayed in when they were writing songs together before announcing they'd make an album. Getting into Dougie's head is always so funny to me because he does say some pretty questionable things that's odd but can be very sweet at the same time.

I hope you guys liked it.

Cheers,

**-Riles**

**PS - **For those of you that used to read our McFly stories did we ever have Dougie give Riley a pet name? I think we did but I really don't remember. Then again, I tend to try and block out the stories I wrote before because I think they're pretty bad, but that's just me.


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